Japanese Cult Game ‘Yume Nikki’ Released on Steam, Sequel Teased

For those fans of the cult Japanese adventure game Yume Nikki, things have gotten interesting. For starters, the game appeared earlier this week on Steam as a free download after years of a fan translation floating around the interwebs (and a brower version after that in July 2016). The new Steam version lists its developer as Kikiyama, and publisher as AGM Playism, a Japan-based distributor focused on localizing and publishing indie games.

Secondly, and more importantly, a countdown timer has appeared on a Japanese site with Twitter and Facebook links. The site’s title reads “Yume Nikki – Dream Diary – . Will be released soon.” The site lists Kikiyama as the copyright holder, and below that, Kadokawa Corporation. Kadokawa Corporation is a Japanese company which owns several companies across a variety of mediums, including Dark Souls devs FromSoftware.

It’s safe to say that the countdown is leading up to the announcment of the new game, or even its release. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks, it seems.

Initially released in 2004, the RPG Maker-created adventure game Yume Nikki earned its cult classic status over the last 14 years from its popularization on the Japanese forum 2channel. In the game, players explore the dreams of a hikikomori (a Japanese word for reclusive individuals or “loners”) named Madotsuki. Traveling through her dreams, the player encounters moments of surrealistic horror imagery.